Friday, May 30, 2014

For our
visit to Warmwaterberg Spa, Gaelyn and I each had our different ideas of what
we wanted to do there.

For me the
main attraction was finding what plants, animals etc were found there and the
beautiful walks but for her, the idea of relaxing in the Roman Bath and the wonderful
Malva Pudding she had there last year.

Warmwaterberg Spa is a mineral hot spring situated between
Barrydale and Ladismith on Route 62 from Montagu to Oudtshoorn.

The Spa is set
on a 600Ha property and offers self-catering accommodation for those who wish
to do-it-themselves, but also has a full-service licensed restaurant, bar and
off-sales for those who want to indulge.

A small kiosk supplies basic necessities,
including braai-wood and ice alongside a selection of groceries.

The main attraction is our unique hot water
(44°C at the source). It is very high in iron content, making it extremely
healthy and sweet-tasting. Many visitors claim to experience a soothing and
calming effect after bathing in the water, which is completely untreated and
fresh from the artesian spring.

In addition to the two hot pools, there is a cold pool and a
number of roman baths (imagine “bath” for up to six people!) on the property.

Think of it this way: at the kiosk you will pay
a small amount for 500ml of bottled mineral water. Here you can step into a
freshly-tapped roman bath containing 1000 litres of (many say superior) mineral
water and bath in it! Try some of our specially-formulated bath salts to
further enhance the experience.

The other great attraction of the Spa is its
location – set high up on the foothills of the Warmwaterberg Mountain, you will
enjoy panoramic views over the little Karoo, clear from the Langeberg to the
Swartberg. Barren and desolate to some, but to those with a little knowledge of
the Succulent Plant Kingdom, unrivalled in specie numbers, diversity and beauty
on any of the five continents!

Enjoy these special plants from close-up along our
spectacular 6km walking trail on the edge of the mountain, and see how many of
the over-2000 endemic species you can identify! The best season to see them in
flower is spring, but this depends on winter rainfall. If we have a good
season, they are spectacular!

If you
time your walk for the early evening or at daybreak you might just bump into
Springbok, Duiker or Steenbok who also make the property their home.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

The land of Dinosaurs has always been something
of a fairytale one for me until you see actual bones of the creatures which
existed then. The region of the central Cape has seen many archeological finds
and seems to have been a prime site for living back in their days. Had to
believe when looking at the semi-arid vegetation which now exists that once
upon a time it was the bottom of a lake or sea and the vegetation was more
lush.

This post was a difficult one to do and take
photographs of as all of the exhibits are under glass (which was not very
clean) which is a challenge itself. The sun was also shining on all the boards which
had to be taken at an angle to avoid the glare. Instead of writing all the
information over again, I have just included the information boards themselves.
All pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them.

The statement above is very difficult for me to
accept and I sometimes think that us humans assume too much and write things as
fact when we do not actually know if it was so. For example, this
extract from one of the boards says it was the first animal to stalk its prey –
how do we know that? We assume it might have been but do not know for
sure. We also do not know what it preyed upon as we were not there to watch and
certainly could not track them and find out if they had a good sense of smell.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Not having
been to Karoo National Park before, I was not sure what to expect. The Park is
situated in a very arid region and the terrain varies between flat grasslands
and high mountains.

The
vegetation is very much the same as in most of the Karoo region, mostly hardy
plants which can survive the low rainfall and almost all have thorns to prevent
them being eaten.

Amongst the
animals seen there were zebra

Gemsbok

and
Mountain Rhebuck

with
evidence of Dassies (Rock Hyrax) everywhere.

During the
year, flowers are seen throughout different season and they are really
spectacular.

Most of all
I was thrilled to find a Wild Pomegranete in bloom, a species I had been
looking for for ages.

While
setting up camp, we spotted this huge tortoise feeding on the grass. He is so
used to people in there that I went to lay on the grass in front of him to take
pictures and he just carried on eating.

One of the
common beetles there is the Toktokkie or Tapping Beetle which taps with its
rear end on the ground to advertise that he is near and waits to hear if a
female will tap back.

They sure
have huge Corn Crickets there and this one was determined to get away and not
let me take his picture but I did anyway. J